Knife splashing

Chapter 782 The Devil is One Step Ahead

Leiyin?

Upon hearing this name, Li Yan's eyes narrowed, and his expression turned cold.

Of course he knew.

When the Ghost Emperor of Mangshan was killed in Luoyang, three names were obtained from him. "Mr. Landu" and "Zhao Qingxu" had already been executed, and the remaining one was "Leiyin".

The other party was very mysterious. All Li Yan knew was that she was a female cultivator and the leader of some cult, who was causing trouble in Jiangnan. All the recent events were related to her.

But its true origins remain unknown.

Looking at Zhang Tiankui's expression, he seemed to know something...

Thinking of this, Li Yan took the letter and examined it without looking up. He casually asked, "I wonder where you heard this name, senior?"

It's no wonder he's cautious; he's seen firsthand Jianmu's methods.

What's most terrifying about these guys is their ability to orchestrate events and corrupt people's hearts. Immortality is their sinister shackle, but it also gives them too many advantages.

Who knows, maybe this family is one of them.

The letter contained very simple information. It was written by Leiyin to the "Ditch Snake Master," instructing him to take care of the ghost opera troupe here and to assist him in completing his mission if necessary.

It has failed now and has no value anymore.

What attracted Li Yan, however, was Zhang Tiankui's narration.

"This demon is a formidable enemy of the Zhang family!"

Zhang Tiankui didn't hide anything and recounted a past event with a complicated expression.

"This matter of grudges and intrigue has been going on for three hundred years..."

"During the Duanping era of the Southern Song Dynasty, in Linghu Town, Huzhou, there was an ancestor of my Zhang family named Zhang Wenyuan, who was a wealthy and powerful man in Huzhou at that time. He controlled 30% of the silk market in Jiangnan, but he was still not greedy enough."

"That year, the silkworm harvest was unsuccessful, and the mulberry fields were plagued by disease. In order to obtain the auspicious omen of '24% silkworm blooms,' he believed the words of a sorcerer from a ghost cult and performed a 'living cocoon sacrifice'!"

What is a 'living cocoon sacrifice'?

“Select the most skilled silkworm-raising girl, bind her hands and feet, stuff her mouth with mulberry leaves, wrap her in layers of raw silk… and bury her alive under her own mulberry grove!”

At this point, the night wind suddenly picked up, and the surrounding withered trees seemed to weep.

"Hehe~"

Upon hearing this, Shalifei, who had just regained consciousness and was recovering, couldn't help but sneer and mock, "Living human lewdness, so this scourge was caused by your Zhang family?"

Zhang Tiankui remained silent for a moment, without refuting.

The silkworm girl's name was "Su'e".

He continued, "According to ancestral records, after her death, her resentment lingered, and she devoured the souls of the silkworm goddesses who died unjustly in the past. She used some unknown method to steal the incense offerings of folk gods such as 'Horse-Head Goddess' and 'Silkworm Flower Goddess,' and cooperated with the ghost cult to stir up trouble among the people."

“At that time in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was common practice to ‘buy with a large scale and sell with a small scale.’ My ancestors exploited silkworm farmers by using this underhanded trick of weighing silk, and they also performed human sacrifices, accumulating a mountain of blood debts. They deserved to die, and I dare not say more.”

“But the lineage that did this back then has long since died out, and we distant relatives have also been implicated, with our descendants dying from the curses at every turn.”

"This matter is like a sword hanging over the head of my Zhang family. For generations, we have traveled far and wide, seeking out experts everywhere, but we have never been able to find this demon."

"I see…"

Li Yan seemed to be deep in thought. "Does the senior have any clues?"

Zhang Tiankui took a deep breath and sighed in a low voice:

"My eldest son has been cursed!"

…………

As dawn broke, the Yangzhou wharf was bustling with activity.

This place is, after all, an important node in the waterway network of Jiangnan and a key storage area for salt and grain. The damage caused that night was repaired in just a few days.

"Great victory! Great victory!"

The thunder of hooves echoed as a junior officer from the Commandery, carrying a flag on his back, galloped along the docks and streets of Yangzhou, shouting:

"All the remaining Japanese pirates have been beheaded!"

"Kill all the accompanying demons!"

As he shouted, joy spread to the surrounding area.

Some people cursed, some wept with joy, and some gossiped among themselves, but no matter what, they were finally relieved of the heavy burden in their hearts.

This was naturally the work of Commander Zhou.

He desperately needed political achievements to stabilize public sentiment, and originally wanted to help promote the Twelve Zodiacs, but Li Yan refused, so he only released the news that the Japanese pirates had been killed.

Even so, the entire city of Yangzhou was in an uproar.

However, the situation was quite different in Zhangjia Village, located on the high ground north of the Caohe River.

As the leading martial arts family in the Yangzhou area, the Zhang family was naturally a prominent and wealthy household. Backed by the remnants of Shugang Mountain and facing a tributary of the Grand Canal, the house was built in a "mountain-backed and water-facing" feng shui configuration, which also subtly resembled the Big Dipper constellation, making it a very grand and imposing structure.

But as soon as Li Yan entered the room, he discovered many strange things.

The underground foundation was rammed with bluestone mixed with glutinous rice mortar, with iron weights buried in the corners of the walls. Double dragon-patterned hitching posts stood in front of the gate. The narrow martial arts hall in front had copper nails inlaid with the Big Dipper in the center, connecting the courtyard of the front and back houses. There were seven moon gates, arranged according to the Big Dipper direction.

This thing is called the "Seven Star Corridor," Li Yan had heard Wang Daoxuan mention it.

All these arrangements are to prevent evil spirits from harming us.

Seeing Li Yan's gaze, Zhang Tiankui sighed and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry to have made you all laugh. In fact, this curse is impossible to defend against. We can only do our best."

After saying that, he led everyone to the back courtyard.

Upon entering a secluded courtyard room, a young man lay on the bed, wrapped in a quilt, breathing evenly, seemingly already fast asleep.

Without wasting words, Zhang Tiankui directly tore open the collar of his shirt, exposing the skin of his neck.

On its skin, there was a layer of fine, pale downy hair.

Everyone who saw this was immediately curious.

Long Yan'er frowned slightly, "It looks a bit like a corpse turning into white hair."

"Not like."

Li Yan shook his head, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "I didn't smell any corpse odor, but rather a fresh fragrance of grass and trees. I've never seen this kind of spell before."

"This is 'silkworm rigor mortis'."

Zhang Tiankui looked at the young man on the bed, his eyes filled with heartache.

“Any male member of the Zhang family is susceptible to this curse. After being cursed, this hair will grow, and the internal organs will gradually turn into silkworm silk, eventually forming a cocoon, and the person will wither and die like a stiff silkworm!”

"The main branch of the Huzhou family has long been wiped out because of this! My Yangzhou branch is far from the mulberry fields and has been suppressed by the magical artifacts of the Xuanmen sect, which is why it has survived until now..."

"Silkworm rigor mortis?"

Long Yan'er became interested, stepped forward, and raised her palm.

buzz~
A strange insect, resembling half a centipede with wings, flew out, flapped its scales, landed on the young man's chest, and bit off a few white hairs before swallowing them. It then flew back to Long Yan'er's palm.

She placed the Gu worm on the wooden table, then took a small leather drum from her waist and began to beat it while chanting incantations in some southwestern dialect, which was completely incomprehensible.

Since the crowd did not understand Gu magic, they could only watch quietly from the sidelines.

Suddenly, the Gu worm began to struggle, then its body stiffened and remained motionless.

Long Yan'er frowned slightly, but continued casting spells.

Boom boom boom!
As the drumbeats sounded, white threads began to grow on the Gu worm's body, and time seemed to speed up, quickly forming a white cocoon.

Long Yan'er stopped drumming, her face solemn as she stepped forward and tore open the white cocoon. Upon seeing the charred and shriveled Gu worm inside, she exclaimed, "What a powerful spell!"

She first burned the Gu worms before explaining to everyone, "This curse is extremely vicious. The so-called 'silkworm stagnation' is not just about hair growing on the body surface, but rather the curse is rooted in the bloodline, absorbing essence and life force as nourishment, and spinning silk to form a cocoon."

"As the saying goes, 'The silkworm spins silk until its death,' and the day it spins its cocoon is the day its life is cut off."

Zhang Tiankui clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. Seeing his beloved son's pained expression, he felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He hissed, "Miss Long, do you have a solution? As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I, Zhang, will spare no expense, even if it means going bankrupt!"

"There's no need to go bankrupt."

Long Yan'er shook her head and said, "This spell makes people imitate silkworms spinning silk and forming cocoons. The white silk is all human essence, without any evil energy. Therefore, ordinary medicines and magical artifacts are difficult to dispel it." "For now, we can only find another way!"

As she spoke, she turned to look at Li Yan.

She had no affection for the Zhang family; she was only curious about magic, so without Li Yan's permission, she couldn't be bothered to meddle.

"Young Master Li, this..."

Zhang Tiankui quickly looked at Li Yan, his previous arrogance completely gone.

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "We can try to provide assistance without charging you any fees, but you should be prepared for the risks involved."

"That's natural."

Zhang Tiankui nodded hurriedly and sighed, "Without you all, my son would only be waiting to die. It's better to give it a try; perhaps there's a glimmer of hope."

Long Yan'er then spoke up, "Alright, my method is to use leech poison."

"Leech lives in filthy and damp places, and likes to feed on blood and essence. Its mouthparts can secrete strange substances that can make people feel no pain or itching, break open stiff meridians, and then follow the blood vessels to sense and transfer the spell."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Tiankui and said, "I need a lot of live leeches, the fiercer the better. I also need a copper basin filled with the dirtiest silt from the bottom of the canal, plus three qian of salt, one qian of cinnabar, and one liang of aged mugwort ash."

"Quickly, prepare everything as Miss Long instructed!"

Zhang Tiankui immediately gave instructions to his trusted disciples who were observing from the outside.

The Zhang family had deep roots in Yangzhou and a large following. Less than half an hour after the order was given, a basin of leeches dug out of the stinking canal was brought to them.

They were all fat and ferocious, writhing their dark brown bodies in the mud.

Once everything was ready, Long Yan'er washed her hands, burned incense, and solemnly cut her fingertip, letting a drop of bright red blood drip into the basin.

In an instant, the leeches in the basin began to writhe wildly.

Longyan took a bag of unnamed powder from his waist and sprinkled it into the basin while chanting in an ancient Miao accent: "Eat filth and devour evil, gnaw through bones and open the meridians, with my essence and blood, nourish your spirit!"

"All insects obey my command, and submit to me as their supreme ruler—I hereby decree!"

At the same time, the cricket in the sleeve began to chirp.

This Qin insect is an ancient and wondrous insect. After being captured by Li Yan, it was given to Long Yan'er and refined into a Gu King that is no less powerful than the Golden Silkworm Gu. It is quite mysterious.

As if stimulated by an invisible force, the leeches in the basin began to writhe wildly, intertwining and devouring each other. Long Yan'er, quick as a flash, sprinkled in salt, cinnabar, and mugwort ash in turn.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to disturb them.

They could tell that Long Yan'er was temporarily refining Gu poison.

After about the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, the scene in the basin had changed.

After a brutal struggle, nearly a hundred leeches were devoured, leaving only nine alive.

These nine creatures doubled in size, their bodies turning a dark red to almost black, with faint red lines visible on their surfaces, resembling blood vessels forming talismans.

As it opened and closed its mouthparts, a faint white mist emerged.

"alright!"

Long Yan'er breathed a sigh of relief, her forehead already beaded with sweat.

"Hold the person down, and no matter what happens, do not let them move."

Zhang Tiankui took a deep breath and pressed down on his son's shoulder.

With his martial arts skills, the patient couldn't move even if he wanted to.

Long Yan'er then took out a small silver knife and, with lightning speed, made a small cut on the fingertips of her son's hands, the soles of his feet, the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest, and the space between his eyebrows.

Then, nine large leeches were placed on the wound.

A strange scene happened!

As the leech moved, the white downy hair on the boy's body began to shrink and fade at a visible speed, and his originally stiff limbs seemed to relax a little.

"it works!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Tiankui's eyes gleamed.

He consulted many Taoist doctors, who all used talismans to exorcise evil spirits and combined them with medicines to strengthen the body's foundation, but to no avail.

Unexpectedly, this method had a miraculous effect.

As time passed, most of the downy hair on his son's body had disappeared, and his breathing had become much more stable.

pat!pat!
Two leeches fell to the ground, their bodies stiff.

Like the previous Gu worms, it grows white downy hairs and spins silk to form a cocoon.

pat!

Another leech fell to the ground.

Long Yan'er breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face. She comforted him, "It seems this method works. Once the nine leeches have drained the bloodline spell, you can rest easy. You can recover afterward... What is that?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed drastically.

Li Yan also suddenly looked up at the sky.

He could feel a cold thought suddenly appear, without any warning, and instantly enter the room.

not good!
Li Yan sensed something was wrong and quickly drew his Duanchen Blade.

However, it was already too late.

"puff!"

Long Yan'er felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The remaining leeches burst open simultaneously, splattering blood everywhere. The young man lying on the bed stiffened again, and even denser white hairs gushed out, making him appear as if he were wrapped in a white veil.

"You monster, you're asking for death!"

Zhang Tiankui's eyes were bloodshot.

He also felt that cold intent, and with a blur of motion, he leaped out, gathering his fist intent into a powerful force, and unleashed a barrage of punches at the sky.

"it's useless."

Li Yan's expression was grave as he persuaded him to stop, saying, "The other party is casting a spell remotely; they might still be thousands of miles away right now."

Zhang Tiankui, his eyes filled with murderous intent, said, "Young Master Li, could you perhaps use magic to..."

Li Yan knew what he was thinking and shook his head directly, saying, "No, it's different from last night. This evil spirit has already placed a curse in your Zhang family's bloodline. With a thought, it can activate the curse."

"The distance is too far, the ghost soldiers can't catch anyone."

As he spoke, he turned and looked into the room, saying coldly, "However, this monster's move revealed his true strength."

"I know how to find her!"

Just now, as Leiyin's thoughts descended, Gou Die suddenly began to heat up.

Li Yan also took the opportunity to receive the mission and information.

Leiyin's identity is truly extraordinary. She is not only an evil spirit who has become a terrestrial immortal, but also a parasite of a demon god's demonic energy!
"Where should we look? Young Master Li, just give the order!"

Without saying a word, Zhang Tiankui clasped his hands in greeting and asked.

Wow~
Just as Li Yan was about to speak, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the air, and then the eagle Li Dong flew through the air and landed on his shoulder.

After feeding it a few pieces of meat, Li Yan removed the bamboo tube tied to its paws, took out the secret letter, glanced at it, and his expression became serious.

"No need to look anymore. Leiyin has already rebelled, gathering a large number of followers and sorcerers to start an uprising in Taihu Lake. Now she is heading straight for Jinling!"

"What!"

Shalifei found it hard to believe. "It's one thing for them to sabotage things in secret, but where did they get the audacity to not be afraid of attacks from the imperial navy's cannons?"

Li Yan felt a bitter taste in his mouth:

"They have already obtained the Yangzhou Ding!"

(End of this chapter)